Mystery of Missing Martian Methane Deepens 53
astroengine writes "NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has been scouring the thin Martian atmosphere for methane — a potential tracer for the presence of Martian life. However, since the gas also can be produced geologically, any findings promised a meaty debate. That discussion can be shelved, perhaps permanently, new findings from a team of Curiosity scientists shows. The most extensive search yet for methane in Mars' atmosphere has come up empty. 'It's disappointing, of course. We would have liked to get [to Gale Crater] and found lots of methane and measure all the isotopes,' lead researcher Christopher Webster, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told Discovery News."
Shouldn't that be... (Score:5, Funny)
Mystery of Missing Martian Methane Magnifies?
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an all-star alteration acolyte apparently
Re:Shouldn't that be... (Score:5, Funny)
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The Martians used it in their cars instead of gas. They burned it all up.
Re:Shouldn't that be... (Score:4, Funny)
Mystery of Missing Martian Methane May Mean More Mars Missions.
Re:Shouldn't that be... (Score:4, Funny)
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Masterful!
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Maybe...
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Mulling the Mystery of Missing Martian Methane?
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Who Ever smelt it dealt it. Mystery solved.
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Later when their bodies were examined in the laboratories, it was found that they were killed by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unprepared. . . slain, after all man's defenses had failed, by the humblest thing that God in His wisdom put upon this earth.
What mystery? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, life can produce methane. Yes, some geological processes can produce methane. Mars has neither... So?
I have a complete lack of Siberian tigers in my basement. That doesn't count as a mystery, deep or otherwise.
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Indeed. I also take issue with the use of "missing." There was never any indication that it was there in the first place for it to be "missing."
Re:What mystery? (Score:5, Informative)
There has been plenty of indication that there was methane on Mars, which was an exciting prospect. Quoth the wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars#Atmosphere [wikipedia.org]
In short, orbiters such as the Mars Express detected methane. Methane only has an atmospheric life of a few years, which means if the orbiter detected it then something must be releasing it right now. The amount detected was more than could have been expected from non-living sources, which makes it an indication of life.
If we now can't detect it, that means either all our previous detections were wrong, or the methane has disappeared. Or, of course, that the rover isn't detecting it even though it is still there somewhere. All of which raises more questions than answers. Hence "mystery".
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Indeed. It's like expressing puzzlement over missing vaginas wrapping slashdotter wiener. Who the hell presumes its existence beyond fantasied hopes of life?
Re:What mystery? (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, life can produce methane. Yes, some geological processes can produce methane. Mars has neither... So?
Well, that's the thing. Mars does have methane, we've detected it before. So the mystery is, what happened to the previously detected methane plumes? Why did they disappear?
So now not only do we not know what produced the methane in mars, we additionally don't know why it's no longer doing so. Mystery deepened.
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Well, that's the thing. Mars does have methane, we've detected it before. So the mystery is, what happened to the previously detected methane plumes? Why did they disappear?
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles below the Martian surface:
"Zorgnab, Kronznantz here - the Earthling's primitive landing craft has equipment for detecting methane on-board. If they detect methane, they may suspect that life evolved here. We can't give them a clue to our possible existence - activate the atmospheric scrubbers at once."
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Yes, life can produce methane. Yes, some geological processes can produce methane. Mars has neither... So?
Well, that's the thing. Mars does have methane, we've detected it before. So the mystery is, what happened to the previously detected methane plumes? Why did they disappear?
So now not only do we not know what produced the methane in mars, we additionally don't know why it's no longer doing so. Mystery deepened.
Martians discovered Beano?
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AFAIK methane is quite light - lighter than air. Mars atmosphere is composed almost entirely of CO2, which is heavier than air, so, wouldn't methane just rise to the top where it would be detected by orbiters but not be produces at such a rate to be in detectable concentration near the surface?
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Martians fart in reverse.
After all, they have orange skies and blue sunsets, the opposite of ours.
Re:What mystery? (Score:5, Informative)
Some plumes of methane were detected by Mars orbiters and terrestrial telescopes 10 years ago, thus the expectation of the rover detecting the methane.
http://www.space.com/6319-mars-methane-geology-biology.html [space.com]
Re:What mystery? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What mystery? (Score:4, Funny)
But dude, I put my collection of Siberian tigers in your basement last night. Their cages were damaged and I had to put them somewhere while they are fixed. The fact that they are no longer down there is going to change from a mystery to a tragedy really quick.
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Lets say you did in fact have a few Siberian tigers in your basement, how did they get there? You've got no idea! Then one day you came home and they were gone. The mystery deepens.
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Of course it's not a mystery. Bengal tigers will eat their Siberian cousins if not properly fed.
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Imagine you detected tiger in your basement.
Then when you went down stairs to look you couldn't find it.
What happened, and more importantly Would you want to know where the tiger is?
only a mystery... (Score:3)
It's only a mystery to those who assumed it should be there. After all, we all know life started on mars, hitched a ride on an asteroid, only to land on earth.
So much for Occam's razor.
MMMMMM.... methane (Score:2)
Mystery solved (Score:1)
check behind the cushions of the sofa (Score:1)
Have they tried checking behind the cushions of the sofa? If anything goes missing that's where it usually ends up.
Bad Science doesnt go away. (Score:3, Interesting)
That would not be a problem (Score:2)
If they sent Curiosity to Uranus
MartianLeakes unveiled missing methane cause (Score:1)
The message received from the anonymous source was first decyphered by MartianBrainBasedDecoder, than translated to (one of) standart earhians languages. We believe it was originally mentally transmitted 2 to 1 years ago. (MartianLeakes comment).
FROM: Central Defensive Strategy Post of Mars
TO: ALL ALL ALL
TOPIC: Counter Earth-spying mimicry and methane gas
TEXT: From last dissasemblies of captured earthians spying devices (codenames Phobos 1, 2, Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander) we believe that ear
Easy (Score:2)
Sun's ultraviolet creates H2O2 from CO2; H2O2 'scrubs' methane. Next question??